Self-driving cars are rolling out in more cities than ever, promising safer roads and reclaiming hours of human attention. Yet for many, the sight of a driverless taxi remains a novelty. Transportation expert Andrew Miller argues that the choices made today will determine whether this future is a utopia or a nightmare.
"40,000 Americans die every year in road incidents, the vast majority caused by driver error. None of those need to happen," Miller says.
At a micro level, autonomous vehicles unlock vast reservoirs of time currently spent focusing on driving. But the technology's path is uncertain. Waymo relies on expensive lidar, radar, and cameras for safety, while Tesla bets on cheap cameras alone. The winner will shape how quickly and safely self-driving taxis enter our lives.
Miller predicts that by 2035, most North American cities will host large fleets of robotaxis. The driving force? Economics. Once the technology is perfected, it becomes cheap to replicate, and robotaxis can run nearly 24/7, generating constant revenue.
Weather remains a hurdle for some approaches, but Miller notes that redundancy in sensors—cameras, radar, lidar—can handle most conditions. The real contest is between safety and cost. The outcome will define our driving future.